Children of Twilight and Destiny
by SeraphJewel
Summary: Everyone knows the story of Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Roxas. But what about the other children? Here we'll look into the other stories of Twilight Town and Destiny Island
1. Unwanted Ones

**Children of Twilight and Destiny**

Part I: Children of Twilight

_Chapter I: Unwanted Ones_

One of the first lessons Seifer learned was to never count on adults for anything.

He supposed they were okay for some stuff, like looking after the stores or officiating Struggle competitions, but for the really important stuff they were basically useless. He figured that out way back when he was only five years old. Whatever his life might have been like before that he couldn't say, but at age five he was turned out of the only home he knew because no one wanted to adopt him.

None of the adults in town cared that he roamed the streets alone for hours and used his coat as a pillow when he slept in his little corner of the Sandlot. There were other kids running around with no one to watch out for them, either. It was unacceptable. So instead of waiting around for them to step up, Seifer decided he would have to take care of himself. And all the other kids, too.

Because he loved Twilight Town. He loved the sound of the tram as it rolled through Tram Common; he loved rolling down Station Heights on a skateboard and making the birds scatter; he loved the clock tower and the warm glow of the sun; he even loved the old mansion that stood abandoned and alone. It was his home, so why shouldn't he do all he could to protect it?

Maybe the town wasn't in danger from any sieges or bandits like in those tales of heroic chivalry he used to read in the orphanage, but it wasn't without problems. Sometimes the adults just left their junk all over the place, or had heavy cargo being pushed up the steep hill on Market Street. Little careless things like that could get people hurt. One day when the adults were paying even less attention than usual, Seifer grabbed a Struggle bat and set to work.

Maintaining discipline and order was no easy task. Sometimes people didn't want to listen. Another lesson Seifer learned: the only way anyone paid attention was if he got in their face.

"Don't go in there!" he snapped to a little kid about to wander down an alley. "You want to get stung by a bunch of bees?" Once he was sure the kid was running in the other direction, Seifer took care of the swarm. How so many were left unchecked, he didn't know. But at least he was paying attention.

"You're not impressing anyone," he sneered to another kid. This idiot was sliding down the handrail on a skateboard. They didn't fall, but they got lucky. Seifer stomped over and grabbed the board out of the kid's hands.

"Hey!" the kid protested. "You can't do that!"

"Sure I can." Seifer smirked as the kid turned red, their lips quivering as they tried to find words. A small crowd had gathered to watch what would happen next. Seifer propped the skateboard on one shoulder, gesturing at the kid with his free hand. "What are you gonna do, cry about it?"

That made the flush spread down to the kid's neck. They opened their mouth but whatever they wanted to say was cut off by loud laughter. Everyone, including the kid and Seifer, turned to see the source.

It was a boy, maybe about Seifer's age. He was wearing a sleeveless red shirt with a silver chain necklace and dark sweatpants. He had dark skin and short dark hair, and currently was pointing at the red-faced kid with his other hand on his knee as he laughed. The strange kid's merriment was so contagious Seifer couldn't help grinning, too. And as a bonus, the laughter caught the other kid off-guard enough he temporarily forgot about Seifer. Seifer was more than willing to take the opportunity and slipped away before the crowd turned their attention back on him.

He was still thinking about that strange laughing kid later, though, and went to find him. Eventually Seifer spotted him near the entrance to the Underground Concourse. The kid wasn't alone: another was with him. Seifer didn't recognize this one, either. She was shorter, slimmer, and much more pale than her companion. She wore a simple blue shirt and gray pants, her silvery hair falling in front of her left eye.

"Hey," Seifer greeted them. They turned and the boy's face lit up.

"It's you!" He turned to the girl. "This is the guy I told you about, y'know. He snatched a kid's skateboard right outta his hands, y'know! It was hilarious!" The girl fixed her one visible eye on Seifer; he couldn't help noticing it was dark red.

"Glad you liked it," Seifer said. "Actually, I kinda owe you one. Everyone was so distracted by you that I managed to get away before they all started complaining. Seriously, you'd think that kid would _thank_ me. He could've broken his neck going down the handrail like that."

"Reckless," the girl noted.

"Pretty much," Seifer agreed. "So who are you guys, anyway? I've never seen either of you in town before, and I've lived here my whole life."

"I'm Rai, y'know," the boy declared, "and this is my little sister-" He was cut off by a sharp kick to his leg from the girl. "Younger!" Rai gasped, clutching his injured leg. "Younger sister, y'know! Her name is Fuu." Seifer felt a stab of jealously. These two were family; he didn't even know if he had one. "We were living in Sunset Terrace, y'know," Rai continued, "but we left and came here."

Seifer didn't really blame them. Sunset Terrace was nice and all, but Twilight Town was busier. There were Struggle competitions and cool places to explore.

"If you guys need someone to show you around, I'm free," he offered. The two of them intrigued him: Rai with the way he laughed at Seifer taking the skateboard, Fuu for how swiftly she kicked her brother. None of the other kids in town were anything like these two.

The siblings agreed and Seifer took them on a tour of the town. As they wandered together through the streets, they swapped details back and forth. Rai was only a year older than Fuu, though it was clear after two minutes in their company that Fuu was the more mature one. She mostly stayed quiet, letting her brother and Seifer do most of the talking. When she did speak, she used only a word or two.

They ended the tour in the Sandlot. "This is the best place in town," Seifer informed them. "They hold Struggle competitions here. I've been working on my technique so one day I can be the champion. You get this cool trophy and a belt. Right now the champion is this guy named Setzer."

"Adult?" Fuu questioned.

"Does seem kinda weird that an adult is the champion of a kid's game, y'know," Rai agreed.

"He's been the champion forever," Seifer explained. "Probably since before any of us were born. But that's why it's going to be such a sweet victory when I win!"

"I bet you could do it, y'know," Rai grinned. Seifer felt his heart warm a little at the support. Sure, these guys were new in town and didn't know much about Setzer's reign as Struggle champion, but it was still nice to not get immediately shot down when declaring his ambition.

"Skateboard," Fuu pointed. Sure enough, the skateboard Seifer took earlier was propped up against one corner of the Sandlot.

"I wasn't really sure what I should do with it," he shrugged.

"Confiscated."

"You took it," Rai nodded, "so it's yours, y'know."

Seifer threw back his head and laughed. "I like the way you guys think! Hey, if you guys don't have to get home, maybe we can go around town and make sure everything is okay. Keep maintaining discipline." The siblings exchanged glances, holding a silent conversation.

"We don't really have a home, y'know," Rai confessed. "We were on our own in Sunset Terrace, y'know, and we left because no one really wanted us around, y'know."

Seifer stared at them wide-eyed. The words resonated so much with his own story. Maybe that was why he was so quick with his offer: "Yeah. Yeah, okay. Well, this part of Twilight Town is great. You can stay right here if you want. It's quiet and no one will really bother you unless they wanna pick a fight."

The siblings shared a smile and Rai chuckled. "I'd love to see them try, y'know."

"Annihilation," Fuu added, cutting through the air with a hand.

Yep. These two were definitely Seifer's kind of people.


	2. Committee

_Chapter II: Committee_

Seifer had to be the coolest person in the world. It only took Rai about five minutes of knowing the other boy to come to this conclusion. For as long as he could remember, Rai and his sister were treated as outsiders. Bad enough people didn't seem to believe him when he said they were siblings; they also made it pretty clear he and Fuu weren't welcome anywhere. He was too loud and obnoxious; she was too quiet and strange.

But Seifer wasn't like that. He immediately accepted them and invited them to hang out with him. None of the other kids ever did that. He also really cared a lot about his town. If he saw themselves or anyone else being put in danger, he yelled and swung a blue bat around until they listened. He was so sure of himself it was easy to get swept up in his confidence.

"Yeah, you'd better listen to what Seifer says, y'know!" Rai declared.

"And who made _him_ boss?" demanded an unfamiliar voice.

Rai turned and saw three kids standing in the square, seemingly not intimidated by Seifer's aggressive approach. The blonde boy was slightly taller than his two companions. The skull on his shirt and his camo pants looked cool. The other boy was a little stockier, a band wrapped around his forehead to try keeping his hair in place. His shirt had the text "Dog Street", and Rai really wanted to ask where that was in town. The girl wore an orange shirt with flowers printed on the fabric and yellow pants.

"Seifer, why do you have to be such a bully?" the girl complained.

"Seifer's just doing what he can to protect the town, y'know," Rai pointed out. "No one else is stepping up, y'know!"

"Who are you, anyway?" Dog Street boy wondered.

"They're my friends," Seifer snapped. "Now back off! Like Rai said, I'm protecting the town! It's not my fault the people around here are all idiots!" There was silence for a moment.

"Did he just say... 'friends'?" the blonde asked his companions. That was exactly what Rai was wondering. He caught his sister's eye; she looked just as surprised. "Listen," the blonde resumed, now addressing Rai and Fuu, "I don't know who you guys are, but you really shouldn't hang out with Seifer. He's just a jerk who pushes people around."

Fuu pressed her lips into a firm line. Rai recognized that look as one that often came just before she kicked someone. "Friend."

"You're the jerks, y'know," Rai added. "You're probably just jealous, y'know."

"Seriously?" The three looked too stunned to come up with a better response. Seifer took the advantage.

"He's right. You're still sore that I whooped your butt in the last Struggle competition. And now I'm stepping up as Twilight Town's protector! You're jealous you didn't think to do it first."

"I don't see how one kid pushing other people around is protecting the town," the girl mused, tapping her chin. Seifer's hand gripped the handle of his Struggle bat tightly. Rai was sure he was going to swing at the trio, but instead he scoffed and turned away.

"Then I'll show you!" With that he walked off, leaving Rai and Fuu to scramble in order to follow. The trio didn't pursue them and soon they were back in the Sand Lot.

"Explain," Fuu urged him. Seifer let out a sigh, tossing his bat aside.

"Those guys are Hayner, Pence, and Olette. We grew up together but we never really got along. And of course they don't like me because I'm Hayner's biggest competition in Struggle." His tone was softer as he added, "Olette's right, though: I'm just one kid. If I want to protect this town properly, I have to be more than that. Do you guys want to help me?"

As if he really needed to ask.

"Yes."

"Of course we'll help, y'know!"

Seifer's resulting smile was warm and huge. He looked almost relieved, like he wasn't sure they would agree. "Great. But it has to be even more than just the three of us. We have to sound official or else nobody's going to take us seriously. We need a name for our group. Something like... 'the Twilight Town Protectors'. Nah, not that. Let me see..."

Rai wasn't an idea guy, so he let Seifer and Fuu puzzle it out. Fuu suggested a word and Seifer weighed it out before rejecting it. Finally, she said, "Discipline."

"Good one! Okay, so we're the Twilight Town Discipline... group? No, not official enough. What sounds really important?"

"A committee, y'know."

"Yes, exactly!" Excited, Seifer grabbed his Struggle bat and slashed it through the air. "From now on, we're the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee! Together the three of us are going to watch out for this town!"

Rai drew himself up taller and flashed a smile at his sister. They had never been a part of something so important before. And it was all thanks to Seifer.


	3. Struggle

_Chapter III: Struggle_

It didn't take long for Fuu to decide that Struggle was a completely ridiculous game. Of course, she wouldn't say so around her brother or Seifer. The two of them were enthralled with it and for Seifer, it wasn't just about winning; it was about proving he was the best fighter. Seifer even had a rivalry with one of the other boys in town. They went back and forth on who got the closest to winning the title. So far neither were able to take down the champion, but taking down each other seemed to satisfy them.

Fuu could understand wanting the trophy and the bragging rights; she couldn't understand how Struggle was supposed to be anything bigger than that. One did not need to be strong, big, or even remotely decent at holding the bat in order to win. All one really needed to be was quick on their feet. Being smaller actually proved beneficial. In fact, Fuu was sure she would win every time if she fought in the tournament.

The rules were simple. Each challenger started with one hundred orbs, either red or blue. Every time the challenger was hit, they would lose orbs that their opponent could collect. Whoever had the most orbs at the end of the round would win. As Fuu saw it, the smart strategy would be to hit your opponent once, collect the dropped orbs, then evade until time ran out.

Though she supposed that strategy was neither exciting nor challenging. Still, she found herself wishing Strugle was an actual test of strength and battle skill. At least then Seifer could be a real champion fighter.

"You'll get 'em next time, y'know," Rai assured Seifer. The bow scowled, glaring over to where Hayner and his friends were celebrating the victory.

"Close fight," Fuu added. It was true: Seifer almost won but got overconfident in the final minute. This reminder comforted Seifer.

"You're right. I'll win for sure next time. You guys can help. You're both tough but I always manage to beat you." Rai wisely said nothing, catching his sister's eye from behind Seifer's head. The truth was that Rai had strength and Fuu had speed; they could both beat Seifer if they tried. But they knew winning the tournament was important to him, so whenever they had to face him in a match, they made sure he won. Just without making it obvious they were throwing the match.

"At least you don't have to fight Olette, y'know," Rai stupidly blurted. Fuu readied her foot for a swift kick but Seifer's glare made her hesitate.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Fighter," Fuu offered quickly.

"Yeah, yeah." Rai looked relieved. "You're a fighter and she's not, so it be too easy, y'know?" Seifer's glare softened, replaced with a little smirk.

"Roughing up some troublemakers for the Disciplinary Committee is one thing, but it's different in a Struggle match." Once again, Rai was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

This was a good time to change the subject. "Train," Fuu suggested.

Seifer liked the idea and together the three friends made their way back to the Sand Lot. While the spot was used for Struggle matches, everyone in town understood it was also the spot where the trio liked to hang out. Or the "posse", as they were sometimes called.

Seifer grabbed up his Struggle bat and got into his fighting stance. Rai sparred with him first while Fuu watched. Her brother used his size to his advantage when he fought, and when he sparred with Seifer he tied two Struggle bats together to turn them into a pole-type object. That was when he fought his best, though of course real Struggle matches didn't allow him to use it.

Fuu didn't like using the regulation Struggle bats, either. She found a pair of metal rings that suited her much better. When it was her turn to spar, she used them against Seifer. These different types of fighting styles helped him more than using tournament-approved weapons, in Fuu's opinion. It frustrated her that he couldn't show the town his true skills, that the best way to prove himself was winning that trophy.

But since that was the only way, she and her brother dedicated themselves to helping Seifer win.

As the next tournament drew closer, the posse ran into Hayner's crew more and more. They would exchange insults and boasts but saving anything else for the Struggle ring. Hayner was the only member of his threesome who ever fought in the tournament. While it was good for Seifer's sake that Olette didn't enter, Fuu never understood why Pence didn't, either. Maybe it was because Hayner was like Seifer where he wanted to be the winner out of their group, and Pence was keeping himself out of the equation.

It was the day before the tournament. Seifer and Rai were training together with Fuu standing by ready for her turn. She heard someone coming and turned, curious who would would invade their space. She was surprised to see it was Olette.

"Hi," the girl waved. "I just wanted to come by and wish you guys good luck."

"Unnecessary," Fuu assured her.

"Oh. Right." Olette's smile wavered. Fuu often had that effect on people. "Well, I know our friends have this silly rivalry for the title, but I'll be rooting for all of you guys, too. Let's all do our best and have fun." Fuu was always careful with her words, and in this case she couldn't think of any to use. "Seifer really is a pretty amazing fighter," Olette observed, tapping her chin. "I just wish he wasn't so aggressive. He almost broke Hayner's nose last time."

Fuu smirked at that. Though Seifer probably would've been disqualified if he had actually broken Hayner's nose.

While they were talking, Seifer and Rai's fight was winding down. Fuu watched as the boys hurried over to join them. "Hey, Olette. What are you doing here?" Seifer demanded, his Struggle bat resting on his shoulder. Fuu knew he was trying to look intimidating and probably did to Olette's untrained eye.

"I was just here to wish you guys good luck in the tournament," she told him. "I'll be rooting for you!"

"Seriously?" Seifer stared at her. "What about Hayner?"

"Well, I'll root for him, too! That way I'll be happy no matter who wins!" Seifer looked to his friends but neither of them knew what to do with that statement, either.

Seifer finally shook off his surprise and put back on his cocky swagger. "Good, because I plan on beating your little friend to the ground!"

Olette sighed. "Okay. See you all tomorrow." She waved and hurried off to rejoin her own friends.

She probably had no idea how much her visit helped in motivating Seifer.


	4. The Mysterious Boy

_Chapter IV: The Mysterious Child_

The train rolled to a halt. Its passengers waited until the car was settled before rising from their seats and gathering their things. They disembarked in a mostly orderly fashion and then dispersed as they went about their business. Finally there was one last passenger on the train. He sat in the very back of the car, waiting for everyone else to leave before he hopped off his seat and made his own way off.

The boy stopped when he got to the front of the car, adjusting his huge pointed hat. "Um, thank you for the ride."

"You're welcome," the driver answered. "Enjoy Twilight Town."

The boy bobbed his head in a nod and turned to exit the train. And immediately flopped face-first onto the platform. He managed to push himself back up to his feet, dusting himself off and adjusting his hat again. A quick look around showed him that no one even noticed his fall. That was a relief.

He headed out of the train station to the main plaza. The place looked so big to him. Hopefully he wouldn't get lost too quickly. He heard bells ringing and turned his head over to the sound, eyes widening when he sees the clock tower. He walked over to take a closer look at the tower. There didn't seem to be a way inside, which was a little disappointing. How cool would it be to stand right underneath the bell?

Eventually he stirred himself to walk away and explore the rest of the town. The boy headed over to the first shop he could see in hopes they sold a map of the area. He was surprised to find a boy about his own age running the store. The counter was a little too tall so he lifted up onto his toes so the other boy could see him.

"Um, hello, do you-"

"Welcome to O'aka's!" He was a little startled by this other boy's enthusiastic greeting. "My name is Wantz. What can I get for you?"

"A map of the town, please?"

"That will be fifty munny!" Vivi hung his head; he was worried about that, because that was exactly fifty munny more than he could afford. He nervously clasped his gloved hands together and stuttered out this admission. "What, no munny?" Wantz gaped. "Sorry, I can't go around giving away merchandise. My brother is depending on me to make O'aka's successful in this town. However," he added as Vivi wilted dejectedly, "I do know that lots of places around town hire kids part-time. Ask around, and tell them Wantz sent you!"

"Thank you!" Vivi chirped. He headed off down the street. He hoped that whatever work they offered wouldn't be too difficult.

As he headed farther into town he finally saw people. Many of them turned to stare at him as he walked past. It made him nervous but he tried his best to ignore it. His glowing eyes searched for any Help Wanted signs. He was hoping that a cafe or restaurant would be looking for workers, but no such luck. There was an ice cream stand but it wasn't the same. He finally found a place and once again pulled himself up to see over the counter.

"Hello? Your sign says you're hiring. Could I work for you?" There was a moment of silence before the store owner came into view. They paused when they saw Vivi, rubbed their eyes, then stared again. This made Vivi even more nervous. Did he really look that strange? It had always been just him and his grandfather before.

It took a while before the store owner realized they were staring without answering the question. "Oh. Work. Yes, ah... well, I have these Struggle posters that need to be put up around town. If you do that for me, I'll pay you fifty munny."

That was exactly how much Vivi needed! If he did this, he might learn his way around town and not even need the map, and be able to spend the munny on something else. Vivi agreed and took the stack of posters. The store owner directed him to the section of town where the posters were to be hung.

It was a huge open area with several tunnels and a tram running by. Vivi stared in awe a moment at the vehicle as it rode on its tracks, pausing to let off passengers before rolling off to its next stop. This town was so busy. It intimidated him a little, but he knew this was what his grandfather wanted for him.

"_This place too small, not enough good eating. You must go out into world. Have many adventures, taste many delicious foods."_

Tears formed in his eyes remembering his grandfather's voice and he rubbed them away. Vivi concentrated on the posters, making sure he put them in lots of places so people could see them from all over. He just finished putting up another poster and was headed down some stairs when he tripped and tumbled the rest of the way down. The remaining posers scattered everywhere. Vivi lay there sprawled on the ground, too sore to move.

"Hey, kid. You okay?"

Vivi lifted his head to see who spoke. His eyes focused on the shoes first, then slowly moved up until he found the face. It was a boy a little older than himself with a scar cutting across his face. He wore a white sleeveless coat over his blue vest and pants, and a black cap covered most of his blonde hair. The boy held out his hand to help Vivi back on his feet.

"That looked like it hurt," the boy observed.

"Y-yeah, it did. Oh, no, the posters!" Vivi looked around wildly but the wind was already picking the loose posters up. "I need those!" he whined. "The store owner gave them to me to put up."

"Hey, relax, we'll help you," the boy soothed. "Fuu, Rai, grab those Struggle posters!" Vivi was so focused on the blonde he hadn't noticed the other two right away. They immediately hurried to do as he asked, chasing down the posters and snatching them out of the air. While they were busy with that, the blonde turned back to Vivi.

"I'm Seifer, by the way. Those are my friends Fuu and Rai."

"Um." It made Vivi shy having an older boy pay so much attention and be so friendly to him. "My name is Vivi."

"So what are you doing putting Struggle posters up, Vivi?" Vivi swallowed, managing to stutter out how he needed munny to buy a map of the town. "Is that all? Well, my friends and I are on the Disciplinary Committee, so we know this town really well. We can show you around! And we'll help put up the posters."

"R-really?" Vivi's eyes went wide. "Wow, thank you!" Fuu and Rai soon joined them with the rescued posters in hand. Seifer snatched them up, redistributing so all four of them had a few.

"We're helping Vivi put these up," he told his friends. The two looked a little surprised by the order, turning to stare at Vivi. He stared back with wide, glowing eyes.

"Hey there, little guy," Rai waved. "I'm Rai, and that's my sister Fuu, ya know. Welcome to Twilight Town, ya know!" Fuu greeted him with a smile and a nod. "The Struggle competition's gonna be great, ya know. Seifer's gonna walk away with the trophy this time, ya know."

"Really?" Vivi turned to Seifer in awe.

"Yeah. That's why it's good we're putting these up: so everybody will be there to witness me kicking Hayner's butt! Now let's hurry and put up these posters. We'll go in teams. Vivi, you'll be with me."

"Okay!" Vivi was all too happy to agree, and even managed to keep up with Seifer's longer strides.

His head was still spinning. He could hardly believe his good fortune running into these three. They were all so much older and cooler than him, but they instantly accepted him. He already felt like a part of their group. Seifer even made it sound like they were working together rather than him kindly showing Vivi around.

They finished and received the payment. Vivi offered to split the money with the other three, and it factored out to be enough for all of them to buy an ice cream.

"Say, Vivi, where are you staying in town?" Seifer wondered as they sat together licking their treats.

"Um... nowhere, really."

"Really? Then you can stay with us at the Sand Lot. We're friends now, after all."

"F-friends? With me? Really?" He couldn't believe it, but they were all nodding.

He had entered this town alone, and now he had three friends. There wasn't enough ice cream in the world to make the warm feeling inside him go away.


	5. Peacemaker

_Chapter V: Peacemaker_

Olette was so used to seeing the posse as a trio that at first she thought the little boy trailing after them was either lost or confused. Her friends were equally puzzled by this new addition to the group. But as they observed the posse, they saw the other three were actively engaging the new kid in conversation. They didn't tease him or seem annoyed by his presence; in fact, they were acting protective of him. Fuu shot death glares and the boys cracked knuckles at anyone who looked at the boy funny. He didn't participate in their particular brand of discipline, but they didn't treat him any worse for it.

"That's weird," Pence mused, voicing all of their thoughts. Rai was now hoisting the little boy up on his shoulders and letting him ride up there. "Wonder what that's all about?"

"Let's go find out," Hayner suggested. Olette and Pence agreed, and the three approached the posse. Olette hoped that this wouldn't turn into a fight. Since the posse was the least hostile toward her, she decided she should speak first.

"Hey, guys! Who's the new kid?"

"Hello!" The boy waved from his perch on Rai's shoulders. "I'm Vivi." Rai set him back on the ground. Even with that pointed hat, the kid looked small standing with the posse. Olette crouched down so she could be on his level and was startled to see he had no visible face. Instead, there was a strange black aura surrounding him with only his glowing yellow eyes visible.

"My name is Olette. These are my friends Hayner and Pence. It's very nice to meet you." The boys soon followed their example, holding out their hands. Vivi wrung his large gloved hands together nervously before clasping the offered ones in front of him.

"Yeah, good to meet you, Vivi," Pence agreed. "Welcome to Twilight Town. Do you like it here so far?"

"Ahuh! It's so big, though. Seifer, Fuu, and Rai have been showing me around. And they helped me put up posters!" Olette glanced over to make sure her friends heard that, too. The posse being nice to someone? Especially a younger kid like Vivi? "The Struggle competition sounds really exciting," Vivi continued, oblivious to their confusion. "Seifer's going to win the tournament! He's the best and strongest fighter in the whole town!"

He was so sweet and cute. His presence could only be a good thing for the posse. Unfortunately, his innocent adoration was exactly the wrong thing to say in front of Hayner.

"_Him_ the best fighter? Is that what he's been telling you? Those are some big words, Seifer. You lost in the last tournament, didn't you?"

"Why don't you shut your mouth, Hayner?!" Seifer snapped. Olette sighed wearily. Times like these, she wished she and Fuu could roll their eyes in solidarity against this nonsense, but the other girl was just as bad as the boys. Sometimes worse- Olette lost count of how many times Fuu kicked her own brother around.

"You don't scare me, Seifer," Hayner huffed.

"Could you guys please just stop?" Olette complained. Seifer stared at her a moment, his harsh expression relaxing. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, all right. I can be the bigger man and call a truce."

Hayner clenched his fists. "Why, you-"

"In fact," Seifer went on, "I won't bother you guys at all until tournament time. It's actually a good idea, Olette. We should save our energy for the ring." Not really what she meant, but she would take it. "Let's go, guys." He turned his back on Hayner, and the other three moved to join him. After a few paces, he paused and turned back. "Oh, yeah. Since I _am_ going to beat you in the tournament, I'm going to make extra sure you don't forget who's the best."

"Yeah?" Pence tilted his head to the side. "And how are you gonna do that?"

"With a picture, of course! Better bring your camera!" Rai and Fuu laughed appreciatively. Whatever else one wanted to say on Seifer, they couldn't deny he had a lot of confidence.

"Do you think he meant that?" Pence wondered once the posse and their newest member were out of sight.

"He seemed pretty sincere," Olette mused. "Seifer is a lot of things, but he's never really lied about anything. He keeps his word." Even if that word came with a threatening overtone. The boys conceded her point and decided to put the posse out of their minds.

Olette was still thinking about them later, though. Their behavior with Vivi was so out-of-character for them. Seifer was so aggressive all the time he often scared kids before they could talk to him. Then Rai and Fuu showed up, and they clicked with Seifer so perfectly it was like they'd always known each other and were just waiting to meet up again. Vivi was a complete mystery. He seemed completely opposite of them and yet they were embracing him into their group.

She decided to keep an eye on them for the next few days. To her complete surprise, the trio continued to treat Vivi like one of their own. They didn't tease him for his shyness or goad him into being more aggressive. She even saw Seifer patiently walk Vivi through the basics of Struggle fighting. The little boy was a little awkward and clumsy but Seifer never got impatient or angry at him. Rai acted as the boy's personal elevator, lifting him to reach places he couldn't on his own. As for Fuu, she was quiet and had an odd speaking pattern, which probably helped Vivi feel more comfortable with his own shyness and awkward stuttering.

Olette just wished all the kindness and warmth the posse showed Vivi would translate to all the other kids in Twilight Town.

One day she was out buying a few things when she spotted Vivi all alone straining to see over a shop's counter. Olette already got used to seeing him with the posse and wondered why he wasn't now.

"Hey, Vivi," she greeted as she approached. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, hello, Olette. I'm buying ingredients. I'm going to make something for my friends for the tournament!"

"That's really sweet," Olette gushed. "I didn't know you could cook!"

"I learned from my grandfather," Vivi told her proudly. "He taught me that any event becomes more special with food. It makes people happy." For the thousandth time, Olette had to wonder how this sweet, thoughtful kid could possibly fit in a group like the posse. But his statement gave her an idea.

"Is it okay if I help? I think I'd like to make something for my friends, too. I'm not a very good cook, though."

"Sure! We can make it together and give it to our friends!"

"Exactly what I was thinking. Just tell me what you need from the stores." It was probably a long shot, but if she could show the others that she and Vivi worked together to make a treat, then maybe they could all get along.

At least for a few minutes while they were eating.


	6. Usual Spots

_Chapter VI: Usual Spots_

No one could say how long Seifer and Hayner had been rivals. If asked, even they couldn't pin down when it started. The why of it was much easier to figure out: they were too much alike. So much alike that they were bound to be either best friends or bitter rivals, and they just so happened to choose the latter. Pence and Olette agreed on that, though of course they would never say so to Hayner.

Pence could remember the first time he met Hayner very clearly. Pence was an intensely curious kid; his parents couldn't find him books fast enough for how quickly he devoured them, and when he had nothing to read he started trying to take apart their household electronics. Eventually they got tired of finding him sitting with a pile of wires that used to be their lamp and sent him outside.

They probably intended for Pence to play ball or learn how to control a skateboard, but instead he ended up going through the garbage hoping someone had thrown away a broken device he could tinker with.

"What are you doing?" Pence looked up at the voice. The other boy staring at him looked about his age, though his body was much leaner. That fact made Pence more self-conscious than the other boy finding him with his face in the garbage.

He pulled himself out, wiping his hands on his shirt. This unfamiliar boy didn't look like he and Pence even belonged in the same neighborhood. He wore his blonde hair short and styled, and his black sleeveless shirt had a picture of a skull and crossbones. As if that wasn't cool enough, his pants were camo-printed. Pence admired his style for about five seconds before he started to worry the kid might punch him. This blonde guy looked like exactly the sort of person who usually picked on kids like Pence.

"Oh, I was just…" There was absolutely no way he could make himself sound less like a loser. "I was looking through the trash." The other boy raised an eyebrow; Pence's face got hot and he stumbled through an explanation. "A lot of people throw away their electronics when they don't work anymore. I figured since they're thrown out anyway, I could take them apart and no one would care."

The other boy considered this, his finger tapping his chin. "Could you put it back together?" he wondered at last.

"I don't really know," Pence admitted. "I'd like to try, though." To his surprise, a smile lit up the other boy's face.

"That's really cool. It's pretty easy to take something apart but if you can put it back together again, you must be pretty smart!" Pence was stunned by how impressed the other boy sounded. He'd been expecting ridicule or a mocking sneer. "I'm Hayner, by the way," the other boy mentioned.

"Oh! Uh, I'm Pence." He held out his hand but then remembered he had recently stuck it in garbage, and quickly pulled back again with a sheepish look. Hayner just laughed, and the ease of that made Pence laugh as well.

It wasn't long after that Olette became their friend. Meeting her was just as memorable and puzzled Pence just as much. He was just getting off the tram when this pretty brunette came running up to him. He figured she just wanted to get on the tram but her attention was fully on him.

"Hey, can you help me with something? I need to run a few errands but I hate going alone. Do you mind keeping me company?"

Pence agreed and after her errands were done, she invited herself along when he went to meet up with Hayner. Olette took a slow walk around the space Pence and Hayner claimed for themselves. They had found the little alley while exploring behind a chain-linked fence. There was junk everywhere—pretty much exactly where the boys found it except for an attempt at stacking boxes to create somewhere they could sit down.

"What is this place?" Olette wondered. "Your guys' club room or something?"

"Well… no." Hayner and Pence exchanged glances. "It's just our usual spot," Hayner told her.

Olette went over to the orange traffic cone, picking it up and holding it so the pointed end was near her eye. She panned it around the room like it was a telescope. She pointed it up to the shafts of light that came down from the openings in the ceiling.

"Not bad," she decided, "but it's a little empty." She set the cone back down where she found it. "Couldn't you at least find something better to sit on than a bunch of boxes?"

"Like what?" Hayner wanted to know. Pence honestly hadn't considered it before, but now that Olette suggested it, he lit up with an idea.

"People throw away cool stuff all the time. I bet we could find something if we looked."

"That's the spirit!" Olette cheered. "Let's go!"

The day later found the three of them pushing a worn-out couch through the opening in the fence. Olette had been their friend ever since. And the usual spot now belonged to all three of them. Pence liked to think of it as their little safe haven away from school, parents, and whatever else was going on in their lives.

Which was why he really wished that Hayner wouldn't practice his Struggle moves there. The competition was only a few days away and Hayner had found a chair leg in the trash that roughly resembled the size and weight of a Struggle bat. He beat Seifer in the last competition and was determined to do it again.

Pence wanted to see his friend win so he tried to be supportive and cheer Hayner on. If that meant he had to stand at a reasonable distance away while Hayner swung the chair leg around their spot, Pence supposed he could live with it.

"It's not like I can practice at the Sand Lot," Hayner grumbled. "The posse are always hanging out there." He stilled his makeshift bat, letting out a frustrated breath. "Seifer… I can't believe Olette's trusting him not to make any trouble! You and I both know he won't be able to resist when he sees someone breaking one of the disciplinary committee's rules."

Pence just nodded. The posse's bullying tactics rubbed him the wrong way just as much as it did Hayner, but he couldn't help seeing how they did at least try to keep everyone safe and following the rules. None of the rules were even that unreasonable. Stuff like watching out for pedestrians when you were on a skateboard, keeping away from the bees that tended to populate alleyways, looking both ways before crossing the tram tracks, clearing the street before moving cargo up Station Heights… Honestly, if those guys could just enforce the rules without being jerks about it, everything would be fine.

"When I win, I'll be the one taking his dumb picture," Hayner continued. "Then maybe he'll stop being so full of himself."

"Are we talking about the Struggle competition again?" Olette's cheerful voice got the boys' attention. She moved farther into the room, boldly crossing that invisible line that would put her in the way of Hayner's next swing. "Because I've decided to throw a party after it's over.

"To celebrate my victory, right?" Olette made a face at him. Pence wondered if his friend realized how much he sounded like Seifer when he said things like that.

"No, just something fun for us to do." Olette flashed a smile that didn't fool her friends; they knew her well enough to tell she was up to something. "Maybe you can relax with the Struggle stuff for a little while?" she suggested to Hayner. "Like Seifer said, you want to save your energy for the competition."

Pence could see how much it annoyed Hayner to be reminded of that. Hayner hadn't trusted the truce but so far Seifer was holding up his end of the deal. He let the chair leg fall out of his hand with a defeated sigh.

"Fine, I'll relax." Pence knew better than that. Sure enough: "What do you guys want to do instead?"

"I have an idea," Pence spoke up.

He was the one who discovered this particular spot. Of course the starting point was hard to miss, but the way up was a little more tricky. The only reason Pence even found a way inside the clock-tower was because he'd been looking for one. All the gears and cogs that made the giant hands move across the clock's face fascinated him and he wanted to see them for himself.

Pence woke up very early thinking he would spot the person who maintained the clock going inside, but no one ever showed up. Yet it continued to run smoothly day after day, and the bell tolled every hour. Pence got excited imagining the complex machinery it took to make that happen.

Someone had to have put it all together, which meant there had to be a way to get inside. Pence was determined to search every inch of the tower's perimeter until he found it. He finally did but the door blended in so well with the rest of the structure he still almost missed it.

Pence pushed his way in and was immediately greeted with a face-full of dust. He let the door stay open to let in some fresh air as he climbed his way up the stairs. Though the place clearly hadn't been occupied in years, the stairs were still sturdy under his feet. He eventually found his way up to an opening that led him outside. The ledge put him at a perfect spot overlooking the whole town. He was so high and there was nothing but his own balance and the ledge keeping him from plummeting.

It was the coolest, most amazing spot in the whole town. He practically ran back to the usual spot so he could show off his discovery to Hayner and Olette. Hayner was of course up for anything but it took a little more convincing before Olette joined them on the ledge. Hayner was the first to sit down and dangle his feet over the ledge. Pence was terrified to try it and when he finally did, he was still terrified but also a little brave. Anyway, things like that weren't quite so scary with his friends by his side.

Eventually it became one of their favorite places to hang out. Olette instated the tradition that they would eat sea-salt ice cream every time they were up there. They would sit and talk, eating their ice cream and watching the town move below them. Behind them, the bell chimed the hour.

_I'll figure you out, _Pence vowed. One never knew when knowledge like that could come in handy.


End file.
